11 | Transcendental Philosophy VII<br>The Role of Humanity in the Age of Natural Science

Numerous questions of philosophy would seem to have become moot in light of modern natural science, and many fields of genuinely philosophical inquiry are affected by this. Alongside theoretical fields such as the theory of perception and knowledge, these also include practical and ethical topics such as the concept of a person and, along with this, personal recognition, responsibility and not least of all freedom of the will. Yet the rich complexities of the reality of human living also pose particular challenges to scientific enterprise. Thus one could also question the paradigm of natural science and technology that has dominant for some time now as to its ability to engage adequately with this complexity. To avoid prematurely settling these rather complex questions with some version or another of one-sided reductionism, it is necessary to approach the theoretical and practical issues involved with a critical and disinterested attention to the claims of modern natural science on the one hand and to an enlightened and informed philosophical understanding of ourselves as humanity on the other hand.
Students from all fields with a critical or constructive interest in the naturalistic challenges facing the contemporary conception of the person are welcome to take part and to offer their own contributions and ideas in direct discussion with the course instructors.
The summer course is addressed to international students and is led by experienced university lecturers. The focus will be on an open and critical discussion. Thus the declared goal of the course is for the participants to work out their own independent viewpoints.